I Ran From You To Be With You
by KitsCade
Summary: Ash is finally going to ask the girl of his dreams out on a date! But what happens when someone from his past needs him more than she ever could?  Advanceshipping vs. Pokeshipping. T for language. My first fanfic. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1  Today's my day!

_Work by: KitsCade (Cadeyrn/KitsuRo)  
12/21/10_  
**I Ran From You To Be With You**

**

* * *

**

**-CHNK**

The pokeball-shaped alarm clock suddenly snapped shut, a pair of fumbling hands tossing it to the ground.

_I really wish I didn't ask for that clock for Christmas._ grumble-thought a young adult by the name of Ash Ketchum.  
2 years has passed since he was crowned Pokemon Master, and was now a young man in the ripe age of 21.

The young man tossed and turned in his bed until he rolled off completely, hitting the ground with a loud **THUMP**.

"Ash! Hurry up or you'll be late!" a woman's voice echoed from downstairs.

"Merrrph!" grumbled back the floor-planted boy.

...

Minutes passed before Ash climbed into a standing position, and he did so with even more grumbling. Grabbing and placing a gray baseball cap onto his head, Ash checked himself thoroughly on a wall-pasted mirror slightly left of his unattended bed. He tilted and turned his head with interest, judging his appearance carefully in his reflection. _Not too bad._ he thought to himself with a sense of accomplishment.

"Today's the day." the Pokemon Master said to himself confidently.

"Pika?" A yellow mouse with red cheeks and a lightning tail crawled out from Ash's bed.

"Morning Pikachu! Just take the tag and my pack for today, I've got somewhere to go."

Pikachu sighed in annoyance as he grabbed the dreaded Absent Pack from behind a counter. The Absent Pack was a Ash Ketchum original, a large bag that carried his entire identity. From personal items, to certificates, to IDs, to anything needed to prove that Ash Ketchum truly was the Pokemon Master.

"Just make sure you go easy on the kids." Ash reminded the yellow rodent, "I don't want their parents coming up to me to complain about how I shamed their children for losing to trainer-less Pokemon."

"Pikapi." Pikachu nodded in agreement, slightly embarrassed for the many moments his partner and master had been cornered by angered parents and officials.

As a Pokemon Master, it was Ash's duty to accept any challenge brought to him by other trainers. And as much as he loved the constant battles, he suddenly felt overwhelmed by the amount of challenges he received daily. To counter this problem, he created the controversial Absent Pack.

Being the Pokemon Master, he was allowed to create rules for other trainers to follow in order to challenge him - and his Absent Pack was the most unprofessional rule anyone within the Pokemon Battle Committee had ever heard of: As long as one of his Pokemon held the Absent Pack, trainers had every right to battle his Pokemon without having their trainer by their side.

Outlandish as it was, there were no specific guidelines that prevented this kind of rule from Pokemon Masters. Not only that, but no one could prove that this outlandish rule was counterproductive - as not a single trainer or gym leader has defeated any of Ash's Pokemon wielding the Absent Pack.

Confident that Pikachu could handle himself for the rest of the day, Ash began changing into some new clothes before heading downstairs for breakfast.

* * *

"Now if I were a boy with a Pikachu, where would I hide?" slyly pondered a young woman as she snuck around the bushes of a beautiful park.

Suddenly she felt hot breathing on her neck, with a dark tone to its whispering voice, "Who are you looking for...?" Her eyes widened.

The young woman jumped out of the bushes with a yelp of fear.  
She was getting ready to run until she heard the dark tone suddenly turn light as it began to laughed. Irritated for being made a fool of, the young woman glared her blue fire eyes into the bushes.

"What's your problem?" she yelled furiously, demanding that the prankster show his face.

A gray cap popped out, the head still obscured. "I dunno, maybe I'm just trying to catch a stalker." the voice joked from the bushes with a snicker.

"Ash?"

"Admit it. I got you, May." the young Pokemon Master popped out victoriously.

May sighed in defeat. "What the heck were you doing in the bushes? And where's Pikachu?"

"I could ask you the same thing. The bushes, that is. Pikachu's doing Absent duty."

"Again? Ash, that's so irresponsible! What if someone steals that bag? Or worse, what if Team Rocket steals your Pokemon?" May tried to lecture the boy, though she knew she'd never be able to get through his thick skull.

"Relax! I'm the Pokemon Master, remember? My Pokemon can handle anything anyone can throw at them!" the boy boasted. May responded with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh right!" Ash exclaimed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out two crumpled tickets, "I was going to ask you if you'd want to go with me to see that movie!"

May sat down by a nearby bench, motioning Ash to do the same. "Which movie? Not another monster flick. I'd hope you would've figured out by now how I hate those movies."

"Actua-" Ash was suddenly interrupted by May.

"_The Haunter_? _Gengar Gengar_? _Darkroar_? _Blood Jynx_? _4-faced Aipom_?" May sighed deeply as she knew her choices, "Or are we going to see another meathead action movie? _Rocket Twins_? _Hitmon_? _De_-" this time it was May's turn to be cut off.

"No no no no no!" Ash quickly said as he sat next to May on the bench.

In truth, he was looking forward to those movies and was heavily disappointed he'd have to wait until they were released on PokeDrive.  
_But now wasn't the time for that kind of thinking._ "It's actually _Restless In Your Arms_."

...

"What's restless in my arms?" May asked confusingly as if the boy didn't finish his sentence.

"No, that's the movie. _Restless In Your Arms_." the Pokemon Master blushed, feeling ridiculous having to say that name over and over again.

The young woman's face couldn't decide on what to express. Excitement? Shock? Confusion? Shyness? Disbelief?

...

...

"May?"

In her deep thoughts, her face was left blank - staring off into space. "W-what?" the young woman snapped out of her thoughts, her face suddenly turning redder every second.

Ash, embarrassed to say the cheesy name again, simply waved the tickets in front of her face.

Not knowing what to do, May slowly reached for and grabbed one of the tickets.

Victorious, Ash winked at her, exclaimed, "It's a date!" and ran off.

...

...

A dazed and confused brown haired woman was left sitting on a bench in the middle of the park. Her face was completely flushed, and her fingers shook so much that she dropped the ticket. She placed her hands onto her face, hiding her blush from no one but herself, "D-did he just ask me out on a date?"

Today was her day.

* * *

"Ash... Ash-" her foot slipped, and the woman with the ruined red hair fell onto wet ground.  
Her eyes blank, her clothes worn and drench, and her skin cut and bruised, and her lips quivered.  
The rain continued to pour onto her defeated body.

Her heart pained. She curled into the position she had become so used to. Sobbing desperately.  
A fishing pole in her hand. No catch to be found.


	2. Chapter 2 Clumsy me

"I'll take two large popco-"  
"ASH!"  
"Fine fine. One large popcorn, one soda-"  
"Two soda."  
"One large popcorn, TWO sodas, and uh... maybe that candy there?"  
"This one too, please?"  
"And a hotdog!"

The woman sighed. _Oh you. Always starving._

"And which sodas would you like?" the bored man automatically answered over the counter.

No answer.

"Ash?" May turned and realized Ash had been staring at her, a dreamy look in his eyes.

He had probably turned her way to ask her the same thing, but was caught in her alluring visage. May blushed at that idea, feeling prettier than she had ever felt in her life.

Ash knew he had been found lost staring at her, but he felt like he couldn't help it. Never before had he seen his lifelong friend this attractive in their time together. Her usual downed hair was tied back into a ponytail, allowing him to see more of her pretty face - and her cute ears.

She wore make up that complimented rather than replaced, accentuating her facial traits into a gentler look, a side he rarely saw of her during their days of playful teases.

Her usual warm-colored attire was now replaced with a beautiful yet simple white top, a light gold short skirt that emphasized her shapely figure, a yellowish-orange designer belt that hung loosely around her waist, and a pair of white stockings that wrapped around her slender legs.

He knew this wasn't exactly what many girls would consider as "beautiful clothing" but he liked it a lot. Pretty and cute, but mostly just comfortable.  
That attracted him, as he liked a girl who cared to be attractive yet not enough to let it get in the way of choosing clothes that matched their comfortable personality.

...

...

"Did you turn off your pokedev?"

Ash snapped out of his thoughts and looked around in surprise. "When did we get to our seats?" he asked confused.

May giggled, blushing uncontrollably, refusing to meet his eyes. "Silly, we got here five minutes earlier. Not that you would have noticed." she tried to be playfully teasing, "You were ogling me like Brock at an Officer Jenny family reunion."

"Well I better ask one of them for help, because you just stole my heart."

May's heart skipped a beat and she blushed harder than she ever had in her life. _What the hell? How am I falling for such a cheesy pickup line_?

Ash laughed and echoed her thoughts, "I can't believe you're falling for such a cheesy line!"

She jammed her elbow deep into his ribs to shut him up. "W-well, did you turn off your pokedev?"

"Oh right! My pokedev!" he began checking all his pockets, "Uh oh."

"Uh oh what?"

Ash scratched the back of his head nervously, "I think I left it at the food counter."

May sighed, "Well at least you didn't leave it with Pikachu like last time. Go ahead, just leave your coat on the seat in case this place gets filled."

"Be right back!" Ash shouted as he ran out of the theater room.

"SHHHHHH!" the brown-haired girl warned, only realizing moments later that she was louder than him.

"Sorry~" she whispered nervously as several couples in their seats glared at her angrily.

* * *

The bored man at the register tried to ignore the panicked boy who was trying to talk over the customers he was serving.

"Uh hello? Pokedev? I said have you seen it! My Pokedev should have been right here!"

"Please sir, wait until I've served these customers."

"But the movie's going to start soon!" the young man demanded.

Irritated, the man conceded. "You dropped it outside while you were opening the door for your date." Though bored of his daily job, the man was still quite aware of the things going on around him.

"Wh-what? Oh! Thank you!" Ash slapped a few coins onto the counter as if he were paying for the information. The man simply sighed and slipped the coins into his pocket. _At least someone appreciates me._ He thought depressingly.

The young Pokemon Master found himself jumping in a panicked manner as he hopped from one spot to another in desperate search for his pokedev. "Oh come on! Where is it? Where is it?"

A body twitched to the sudden outburst of sound. It slowly uncurled from its restless sleep on the bench outside of the theater.

"Oh I know! I'll call it!" Ash reached for his pokedev, only to realize it still wasn't there. "No wait, that was stupid. Um... should I ask May to call it?"

"A-...sh..?"

"She'd be so pissed if I made her miss any part of the movie!" Ash continued to talk to himself, scaring the few people entering the theater, "The payphone! I'll call from the payphones inside!"

"Ash...Ash!"

The boy hadn't noticed the figure calling to him from the bench. He entered back into the theater in a panicked hurry.

...

"...Ash..." the figure picked up a pokedev on the wet floor and held it close to their chest.

* * *

"Oh that Ketchum! He's missing out on the trailers!" May grumbled to herself impatiently as she shoved popcorn into her mouth stressfully. "When he gets back I'll-"

She stopped, noticing she had finished all the popcorn in the bag already. "Oops... I guess we really did need two popcorns."

She felt slightly guilty. _No. It's what he gets for losing his pokedev now of all times._ She grabbed the hotdog that was meant for Ash and took a bite from it.

* * *

He called again. "Come on! Why can't I hear it?"

Ash slapped his hand onto his face, just realizing that he wouldn't be able to hear the lost pokedev on the outside - from the inside of the theater.

He was about to hang up the payphone in idiotic loss when he suddenly heard a familiar tune.

...

His ringtone!

It was a theme song from one of his favorite action movies Lightning Ash, a movie he had been paid quite well for having it based loosely on his life. Very loosely would be more accurate, as he had been an armored superhero with the powers of Pika-Lightning, fighting against the forces of the Galaxy Rocket.

"Lightniiiing~ Lightniiiiiing Ash! When trouble come-" Ash snapped out of his thought-mesmerized sing-a-long. He looked in the direction where his ringtone was coming from.

A woman, drenched, was holding it out to him.

...

"Ash..."

"Wow! Thanks, you're a lifesaver!" Ash grabbed his pokedev, gave his trademark grin, and started heading towards his theater room, glad that he might still have enough time to see the last movie trailer.

He was stopped and almost tumbled to the floor when his arm was suddenly grabbed and pulled.

"What the-"

"ASH!" the woman cried desperately.

"Look, if you want an autograph, you'll have to give me a pen fast. I didn't bring any pens with me and I really need to get going."

"ASH!"

"If it's a battle you want, I'm sorry but I'm on Absent right now. My Pikachu's a few miles east from here if you really want to test yourself."

The woman fell to the ground sobbing.

"H-hey come on, don't cry!" Ash panicked, he didn't like making anyone cry, especially women, "Tell you what, I'll battle you myself after the movie's done!"

"Ash..." the woman looked up, her wet hair parting, her blue eyes sparkling from tears, her gaze piercing into him.

...

He didn't know who this woman was, but he was surprised when his instincts revealed her identity to him, "M-Misty?"

* * *

Misty Waterflower, once the little girl who followed Ash through his early adventures until he would pay her back for destroying her bike. She had left him to return to the Cerulean City Gym to become its proper gym leader.  
Despite meeting with him every now and again, as well as constantly trading videocalls and letters, Misty had become distant from Ash as a friend - feeling overshadowed by all the new people and friends he had met along his new journeys.  
Though Ash never saw it that way, always saying that she'd always be his best friend no matter how long they've been apart. She cherished those words, but knew she'd be losing him. Not as a friend, but as a man she loved...

Her interest in Ash had grown much since her early days. Starting from a crush, building to an infatuation, to care, to cherishing, and eventually to love. And though she never wanted to admit it, she sank into the love deeper and deeper each time she had visited, called, and wrote to him.

But she knew she'd never compare to all those new girls that accompanied him. Whether it was because they were nicer, prettier, or more open to their feelings towards him - Misty just couldn't compare.

Being swallowed by self-pity, Misty had slowly removed herself further from Ash... always searching for something to make her too busy to call or write him back.  
She trained hard to make her childish thoughts disappear, growing to become a very powerful gym leader - even being offered a place within the Elite Four. She declined as she felt like she still had much to learn.  
Misty wanted a new challenge, something to better herself as a trainer, becoming obsessed with her work.  
That moment came when she heard that Ash had become a Pokemon Master.

"Misty..."

"Ash... I... Ash..." the former Cerulean City Gym Leader cringed in an effort to find words that weren't Ash or Ketchum.

She failed and found herself bawling on the floor, desperately clinging to Ash's leg.

Ash looked around nervously, noticing all the eyes focused on him and the poor woman.

He thought of carrying her to a private area to talk, but remembered his date with May. _Man, why now of all times?_

He looked around as if someone would give him the answer. His hand moved up and covered his eyes. _I'm so going to regret this..._


	3. Chapter 3 No!

**Chnk.**

May looked around to the noise of the theater door closing. A man messy hair came in, carrying a possibly sleeping woman into the theater. She turned back to watching the screen, convinced that it was another couple.

The opening credits rolled as a beautiful scene showed a butterfree softly landing on a flower, the flower bursting into light blooms that transitioned into the lights of a city in the night. Clever scene transitions followed as the credits continued to roll.

"Oh, that Ash... I swear whe-"

"Missed me?" a man sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder immediately.  
May blushed at this sudden act of affection.

Ash only noticed after a few seconds, forgetting that they weren't that close in the relationship yet.

...

...

"Ash..."

Ash froze. Wondering why he just heard that behind him.

...

"Ash."

_Why did she move to the seat behind us? Come on Misty, don't ruin this for me!_

_...  
_

"Ash..."

_Aw man, I'm screwed. May is not going to like how this looks at all._

_...  
_

"Hey Ash..." this whisper came from right next to his ear. He panicked and turned in that direction, realizing it was just May whispering in his ear.

She gave him a quizzical look, "Why are you freaking out?" He sighed in relief. "Anyways, let's move to another seat. The girl behind us keeps mumbling. I think her date ditched her."

That statement struck a guilty cord in his heart. Not only was he abandoning Misty in this theater until he could figure out what to do next, but he was fooling May on what happened just moments ago.

He adjusted his baseball cap just to ensure he was wearing it.

"Why are you still wearing that? Just take it off, we're indoors."

"Hey, you know it's my signature look."

"SSHHHHH!" a nearby couple hissed as they squeezed past them.

He looked back at Misty, begging in his mind for her to not be following them.

She wasn't.

He sighed in relief again, now happy that Misty was giving her complete attention to the movie. _Good ol' Misty, still a sucker for romantic movies._

_

* * *

_

"...just always so... restless in your arms." the woman in the movie sighed.

Predictable cheesy ending, though he definitely could appreciate the art more now than when he was just a boy. _And besides_... Ash thought, _that's my cue_.

Ash looked down into May's eyes.

She had started holding his hand halfway through the movie, eventually moving his hand around her shoulder, and finally laid her head down onto his chest.  
She was now looking up, with desperate love in her eyes.

...

Their eyes met, and their faces inched closer together...

...

"NO!" screamed a girl sitting by herself in the theater.

Several couples turned in her direction out of annoyance, then turned away in pity. Ash and May was one of those couples. Though Ash realized Misty was staring directly at them.

"Poor girl..." started May, "How could anyone abandon their date in a romantic movie?"

"Yeah, total ass."

"Ash!"

"What?"

"Watch your words, Ketchum. I don't like dirty mouths." May turned in one direction irritated, yet gripped her hand tighter around his. "Let's... um... go home." she mentioned with a blush.

As they walked out of the theater, Ash turned to see Misty staring at him walk away.

He would have turned forward and tilted his baseball cap to show that he couldn't give her attention right now, but he then noticed that Misty was holding up his pokedev.

Ash's shocked face was priceless, even offering the depressed Misty a snicker.

...

The door closed. And Misty was alone again.

* * *

The new couple waited outside of May Maple's house nervously.

_Soooo..._ May wanted to say.  
_  
Soooo..._ Ash wished to respond.

"I had a good time." Ash awkwardly said.

May giggled. "I'm supposed to say that, silly boy."

May gave him a quick peck to the cheek and skipped to her door.

She did a quick twirl and faced him with the cutest smile he'd ever seen. "I guess I'm dating a celebrity now." she said as she entered her house and closed the door.

Ash smiled to himself. _And I guess I'm dating the girl of my dreams._

_

* * *

_

Ash fumbled with his keys, wondering which one it was that opened his house's door.

"Was it the one that looked like a golduck's bill, or the one that looked like Pikachu's tail?" Ash was talking to himself again, "Or maybe it's the one with Latias' face on it?"

The door opened while he was still deciding.

A Mr. Mime greeted him. "Mime!"

"SHHHHH! Don't wake up mom."

"Mime mime." and with that, the Mr. Mime shuffled away - off to the next leftover chore.

...

He was about to enter the house when he felt a sudden tug on the back of his jacket.

He turned to find who it was, only to realize that whoever it was - was clinging to his back, spinning and turning with him.

Thinking it was possibly one of his Pokemon trying to play games with him, he reached around his back and grabbed whichever one it was. _Is this a head?_

_...  
_

The tugs on his jacket suddenly loosened and arms wrapped around his waist.

"Ash..."

"Uh..."

"Please..."

Ash wasn't sure what to do. So he decided to just do the stupid thing and just walk into his room like there wasn't a possibly crazy girl attached to his back.

As he shuffled through the house, he could hear that both of them were making a shuffling sound. No longer sneaky or nonchalant. Mr. Mime turned and stared at them awkwardly walking so close together.

"Mime mime." Mr. Mime sighed as he had to clean the wet footprints that stained the carpet.

* * *

_Pikachu's not home yet. Hopefully he's doing fine out there._

The young man sat on his bed, staring at the wrecked girl that sat on the other side of his room. _Though I think he's the last of my worries right now._

"Ash..." like a clock hitting another hour, Misty gave that familiar chime once again.

"Misty..."

Ash sat uncomfortably on his bed, unsure what to do. So he decided to ask something that has always been bugging him.

"Misty, where'd you go?" he whispered calmly.

"I..." Misty suddenly burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands.

Ash sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

He wasn't sure why, but he was crying with her. As if he could feel all the pain she's been through.

"Don't make me go..." she whispered.

"I won't."

...

"...don't make me go."


	4. Chapter 4 It was you

"I just beat Lorelei again that afternoon. It was her sixth time she challenged me, and the third time she lost. 'I seriously think you should reconsider the offer.' she'd say to me, the seventh time she's ever said it to me.

...but I didn't want to be an Elite. I felt like I had so much more to do. I may have been the strongest of our gym leaders, and I may even be a match to the Elite Four, but I felt like I could improve even more.

Like I was missing something. I didn't know what, but I wanted to master it. And the next day, news spread that you won and were now the Pokemon Master..."

"I wondered why you didn't come to my celebration... everyone was there, even your sisters."

Misty swallowed, still nervous of the idea of responding to his comments completely honestly. "I just... I couldn't go. I just couldn't go."

Ash understood not to push further.

With a sigh, Misty continued her now two hour long explanation of her life without Ash, "Well, when I heard you became Pokemon Master, I thought 'Maybe that's it. Maybe I just need to go on my own adventure just like Ash did.'  
So I left the keys to my sisters and decided to leave.  
My own adventure...

And I started where it all began between us... that river that I fished you out of.

From there, I just went off of memories as to where to go next."

She gave a small giggle, "You wouldn't believe how much faster the adventure is when you don't have Team Rocket bothering you every step of the way."

"Oh that reminds me! Can you believe that Jessie, James, and Meowth came to the celebration too? We all actually had a good time together, until they tried to snatch Pikachu again." Ash laughed.

Misty went quiet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Please keep going."

With a deep breath, Misty continued, "And seeing that I wasn't a rookie, I easily beat every gym leader and challenger that came my way.

...it was really nice meeting everyone again, everyone's improved so much, and even the kids who you beat before were giving me a hard time.

It really seemed like that the life of adventure really pushed everyone to work harder for their dreams."

"Well of course. Everyone we met along the way was pretty determined. I'm not really surprised at all that they've improved."

"Thing is, I found out I was wrong..."

"What do you mean?"

Misty looked up from her knees and stared Ash straight in the eyes.  
"I mean, I was wrong. It wasn't just them and their dreams, it wasn't just them meeting other adventurous groups, and it definitely wasn't just coincidence."

Misty played with a nearby pokeball, constantly shrinking and growing it with a press of a button.

"It was you, Ash..."

Ash looked at her oddly, wondering if that was intended to be an insult of some kind.

"They all improved because of you."

Ash smiled, "That's really flattering, bu-"

"No buts, Ash. You said you didn't mean to interrupt earlier, so hold to it and listen to me. It. Was. You." the red-haired girl tossed the pokeball across the room, "It was just always you..." her eyes watered.

...

"I met them. Your other friends, that is.

I used your and Brock's letters like a map, remembering our vidcalls to fill in the blanks. From region to region, I met every person you ever met. Even that Angie girl..."

"Oh hey, Angie! I heard from her that you visited, how was she?"

Her eyes shot at him accusingly, "She's just fine. I heard about your little adventures together."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"I can tell you're not as dense as you used to be, so I'm assuming you already know she had quite a crush on you."

Ash blushed. "Wh-what? Heh, I actually had no idea."

"Bet you didn't even notice the other girls fawning over you like Gary's cheerleaders."

The Pokemon Master found himself unable to say anything against her venomous words.

"Every person you met, was inspired by you - Ash."

Misty suddenly went quiet. Her face planted into her knees as she began sobbing again.

Ash simply rubbed her back.

"I heard all the things you did for them, all the adventures you had, and I just... I just couldn't take it anymore."

...

"Don't you get it yet, Ash? I loved you!"

...

Ash felt some shock that she used a word as strong as love to describe her old feelings for him.  
He always knew they had something between them, but never realized her feelings were that strong for him.

"I- I- I was trying to forget you, Ash! You had all those girls... all those girls. So pretty, so nice, could cook, wore such nice clothes, cheered you on in your battles, gave you great advice, and even traveled with you! And what was I? Just that one girl that didn't matter anymore..."

"Misty, you-"

"I know. I know. I know I still mattered to you. But what could I do? How could I go against them? Some of them were even better Pokemon trainers than me! I fought them at my best and they still beat me. Me. Someone who could beat one of the Elite, being brought down by an amateur trainer... because of you... because of how you made them better... how you made them better in every way..."

Using his foot, Ash scooted a tissue box closer to Misty. She thanked him with a nod and blew her nose and wiped off her tears.

"I stood no chance. I didn't just want to be your best friend anymore... I wanted to be yours. And I felt so pathetic. Here I am, a gym leader falling for a boy two years younger than her! I could have gotten any guy I wanted, and I find myself wanting this immature little runt more."

Ash was afraid where this was going. He was with May now. He didn't want her to continue with her story, but knew she'd never recover if she didn't finish it.

He stayed quiet.

"I started this entire journey to better myself. To better myself in something that would make me too busy for you. So I could move on.  
But... it just kept leading back to you. Always back to you. God how I wish it didn't.  
But it always did. It always did!"

**SMACK**

With a hand to his cheek, Ash felt confused as to why Misty had suddenly slapped him.  
Tears in her angry eyes, she stared him down.

When he finally flinched, she sighed and wiped away her tears.  
She carefully took off his hat and started to run her fingers through his hair. She didn't know why she was doing this, she only knew that it's what felt right.

"I loved you, Ash. And I thought I could forget about you.  
But you stubbornly just kept coming back into my life through these people. I fell in love with you more with every story I heard about you. And... I love you, Ash. I love you now.

You and your stupid antics at that theater just reminded me how little you've changed, and how glad I am to know you haven't." Her hand floated down onto his cheek and she pressed her hand against it intimately. "But I didn't want to love you..." she pulled her hand away.

"I didn't. I knew you wouldn't choose me over those other girls. I was always so mean to you, so angry, so stubborn, always in your face, always discouraging you, not as pretty as them, not as smart as them, not as talented as them, and definitely not as open to you as they were."

"But-"

She placed a finger over his lips. Her eyes closed, trying to hold back tears. "Please don't."  
He stayed quiet.

"So I ran.

No more letters for maps. No more vidcalls for blank-fillers. No more memories to hold me back. I had to have my own adventure, my own life, my own memories.

So I ran.

I traveled to places even you've never been to, seen Pokemon you still haven't seen yet, and beaten trainers you'd never expect to exist.

It was a lonely road, but it was my own. And the further I got down the road, the more I got to know who I was without you.

I was strong, smart, confident, stubborn, independent, arrogant, dismissive of boys, and a girl who could crush on any man with a handsome face. I even dated a few."

"Ugh... but they reminded me why I never had a boyfriend before. They're always after sex. They're always after dominance. They're always after having a trophy. Sure, not all of them were like that - but then they just weren't my type at that point. Maybe I just had bad taste in men.

But there was this one boy. He had a certain charm to him. He was caring, innocently cute, adventurous, brave, funny, driven, and was really selfless when he wanted to be.

I traveled with him for a while. He was so fun to be with.

One day he just asked me if I would marry him.

I said yes. ...but... I didn't feel happy. I was finally getting my dream of marrying my prince charming, but I just wasn't happy.

I didn't know why.

A few days before the wedding, he gave me this most charming smile and asked me in the most sincere way, 'Are you ready?' like we were starting a new adventure together.  
Where it was just us. It was so romantic.

But I didn't feel anything. I just smiled at him as a response. And... I don't know... I just ran away...

I ran away.

I didn't know where I was going, I didn't know why I was going, I was just going. Just had to go. Not him. Not him. I don't know why! It just couldn't be him!"

Tearing the box of tissues apart, she grunted a long and aggravated heart-broken scream. Ash immediately positioned his body in a certain angle as if trying to block the sound from reaching outside the room.

"Ash, are you okay?" a motherly voice asked from outside his room.

"Yeah mom! I'm fine, just stubbed my toe on something!"

"Well go to sleep already, it's late." a door closed.

Ash turned back to Misty, who was breathing too fast for it to be normal. He grabbed her hand in concern, and she darted her desperation in his direction.

"It had to be you, Ash. He was JUST LIKE you, but he wasn't you! God he wasn't you!"

She wrapped her arms tightly around his head, cradling his head into her chest.

"He wasn't you... that's why I ran...  
I don't know how long I ran, where I went, where I was, I just had to get away.  
And... I ended up back there... where it all started...  
That river...

I bought a fishing pole, did you know that? I bought one just to see... just to see if I could fish you out again...

I felt so stupid. I felt like I was crazy. I felt like I had gone insane. Ash doesn't come from the river! How stupid was I? But... but... I was just so desperate... I needed you, Ash. I needed you, but I could never have you..."

"I wandered into the town aimlessly. Just sleeping in Pokemon Centers and benches. Not sure what to do with myself... not sure if I wanted to do anything for myself... and that's...

...that's when I saw you Ash." Misty took in one big gulp to choke her tears, "That's when I saw your stupid stupid face. Two years hasn't done much to change that stupid face of yours."

"Mrphh." Ash protested against the comment, still buried into an awkward spot.

"Don't worry, I love that stupid face of yours." gently lifting his head to face her, she smiled, "You're the most handsome face on this planet, you know that Mr. Pokemon Master?"

He blushed. _Stop it Ash. You shouldn't be doing this. You're with May now. But..._

"Does she love you like I do?" Misty seemed to be reading his thoughts.

"I... I d-"

"I'll change for you if you want me to.  
I'll wear clothes like she does, give you whatever you want, treat you however you want me to, watch any movie you want to watch, dye my hair whatever color you want it to be, grow it as long or cut it as short as you want it to be!"

"But Mi-"

"JUST TAKE ME BACK! PLEASE! OH GOD!

Please...  
I can't live without you, Ash...  
Please take me... Love me.  
I can't force you to, but I...  
please... love me..." her hands fell from his face, grabbing the carpet beneath her, "...just give me a chance.

I can't keep running away.

...let me try."

...

...

A chirpy love song started chiming loudly.

...

May's ringtone...

...

Misty held out Ash's pokedev, open-handed, her eyes pleading his answer.

...

...

Ash never answered that call.


End file.
